The Delhi Police has arrested three men, including a 32-year-old Nigerian national, and apprehended a minor from southwest Delhi for cheating a 40-year-old woman of ₹4.20 lakh after befriending her on social media and duping her in the name of sending expensive gifts from abroad last year, police said on Thursday.
According to police, the cyber scam was dismantled following investigation into the woman’s complaint filed in September 2025.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Raja Banthia said the arrested men were identified as Culibaly Amara, a Nigerian citizen living in India for over seven years, Ansh Oberoi (22), and Kunal alias Sonu (32) — a martial art trainer and previously booked in an assault case. The teenager, aged 16, is a Class 11 student.
Police also seized 22 mobile phones, 14 SIM cards, including three from the United Kingdom (UK), and one debit card and a notebook, the officer added.
The complainant told the police that on April 8, 2025, she received a WhatsApp message from a person who identified himself as Nitin Patel and expressed a desire to be her friend. After a few days of chatting, the person told the woman that he was sending her a parcel containing one ring, two bags, one pair of shoes and £50,000 (pounds) as gifts.
The woman added that on April 16, she received another WhatsApp message from a different mobile number saying that her parcel had arrived at Delhi Airport and she had to pay ₹40,000 to collect it, which she paid. Thereafter, she received multiple messages demanding further payments under various pretexts such as late fees, transport charges, and clearance charges, which she also paid.
On May 20, the complainant received a message where the sender falsely claimed to be a police officer at Mumbai Airport and informed her that Patel had been arrested with £100,000. The person demanded ₹1.3 lakh from the woman for Patel’s release, which she refused to pay. The woman soon realised that she had been duped of ₹4.20 lakh and lodged a complaint.
According to investgators, a detailed technical analysis of the call detail records of almost 200 mobile numbers and IMEIs along with a thorough search of the money trail among several bank accounts led the police to the 16-year-old-old suspect, who was apprehended on January 23 from southwest Delhi’s Sagararpur.
“The teenager told us that he worked for Oberoi and Kunal, who were arrested the same day from Najafgarhh. Their interrogation led us to Amara, who was arrested after a raid in Burari the same day.
“The teenager supplied SIM cards to Oberoi and Kunal, who facilitated the Nigerian national with mule bank accounts. Amara was trapped after our team member
impersonated a delivery boy and met him on the pretext of providing bank account details needed for receiving cheated money,” added DCPC Banthia.
